KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
India 05-Jan-1991
According to Major General (Retd) Narinder Singh, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib was the "Vidhana" or constitution of the Sikhs, and their struggle was focused on achieving independence and establishing Khalistan.
India 12-Jan-1991
During a joint meeting in Chandigarh, the three primary factions of the Akali Dal, namely SAD (B), SAD (L), and SAD (M), reached a unanimous decision to dissolve their respective groups.
India 13-Jan-1991
During the Maghi conference in Muktsar, P S Badal announced that his party had accomplished one Nishan, one constitution, and one President. In the same event, senior militant leaders from P.C (Sohan Singh) vowed to punish those who oppose the concept of Khalistan, with negotiations on the matter to be held at Sri Akal Takht or in Geneva. They also proclaimed their intention to boycott Hindu fundamentalists from Congress (I), RSS, BJP, and Shiv Sena in the Khalistan region. However, Gurbachan Singh Manochahal argued that the Sikhs' sixth Guru had granted them the right to self-determination, and hence there would be no dialogue on the issue.
India 28-Jan-1991
A group of 15 to 20 armed Khalistani terrorists, traveling in trucks, killed 11 Hindus in the vicinity of the Bus Stand Bhikowal, located under the jurisdiction of Hariana Police Station in Hoshiarpur.
India 02-Feb-1991
The Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab D.S Mangat was injured in an explosion that occurred near the Sherpur Bridge in Ludhiana City.
India 10-Feb-1991
During a seminar in Ludhiana, Gurcharan Singh, former chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, emphasized the importance of issuing an ultimatum to the government to recognize the Sikhs' right to self-determination. If this demand is not met, they would be forced to declare their independence.
India 22-Feb-1991
Through a press release issued in Amritsar, S S Mann dissolved both the SAD (B) and SAD (L) factions in the interest of promoting unity within the Akalis.
India 28-Feb-1991
P.C (Zaffarwal), Dashmesh Regiment (Baghel Singh), and SSF-Mehta issued a joint statement, urging the Government of India to withdraw its armed forces and state administration from the ‘land of Khalistan’ by Baisakhi 1991.
India 28-Feb-1991
Khalistan National Army released a message, cautioning residents of Abohar and Fazilka, as well as Balram Jakhar, against declaring Hindi as their mother tongue during the upcoming general census.
India 28-Feb-1991
P.C (Sohan Singh) and allied militant organizations proclaimed Punjabi as the official language of Khalistan, stating that they would prevent the completion of the SYL canal and prohibit any water from flowing out of Punjab.
India 28-Feb-1991
Kartar Singh Narang clarified that his party's goal was to establish a clean administration, rather than a "RAJ," and criticized the police department's practice of issuing fines to vehicles with Punjabi number plates.
India 22-Mar-1991
SS Mann emphasized the importance of a sovereign Sikh State and stated that for Sikhs, the decision to seek refuge in Pakistan in the face of genocidal threats was a matter of both freedom and survival. He further noted that Pakistan would offer refugee status to those who seeking shelter there.
India 22-Mar-1991
27 Hindu employees of Swaraj Mazda Foundry were killed and three others were injured in a militant attack in Ropar district.
India 25-Mar-1991
AISSF (M) recognised Gurbachan Sing Manochahal, who had earlier declared himself as Jathedar of Akal Takhat on June, 4, 1986.
India 13-Apr-1991
P.C (Monochahal) decided to extend political recognition to AISSF (Manjit Group).
India 14-Apr-1991
SS Mann announced his desire to contest the election with the goal of advocating for a sovereign and independent Sikh State.
India 14-Apr-1991
P.C (Sohan Singh) called for a boycott of the election.
India 14-Apr-1991
R.S. Mehta urged the creation of Khalsa Panchayats in villages as a preliminary step towards establishing a parallel government in Punjab within a year with the support of P.C. Zaffarwal.
India 18-Apr-1991
The Congress (I) announced its decision to boycott the elections in Punjab.
India 22-Apr-1991
The government issued a notification for the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections to be held in Punjab on June 22.
India 22-Apr-1991
SSF (Mehta and Chawla) declared the decision to boycott the Punjab elections.
India 23-Apr-1991
PS Badal decided to revive his party with the intention of contesting elections independently.
India 24-Apr-1991
SAD (L) has chosen to resurrect its old Dal with Kabal Singh as acting President, and has distanced itself from SAD (M) in order to run in the elections independently.
India 24-Apr-1991
Babbar Akali Dal decided to boycott the elections, as they believe that holding elections would not provide a solution to the problems faced by Punjab.
India 27-Apr-1991
Malkiat Singh Sidhu, a former Minister and SAD (B) candidate for the Moga and Bagha Purana Vidhan Sabha constituencies, was killed by militants, resulting in the cancellation of the elections.
India 28-Apr-1991
Captain Amarinder Singh declared the creation of a new party named Akali Dal Panthic.
India 28-Apr-1991
Government successfully conducted civic polls for the Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Amritsar Municipal Corporations.
India 02-May-1991
In a statement, Kanshi Ram of BSP announced conditional support to Akali Dals, on the condition that they pledge to address the issues faced by Punjab within the framework of the Indian Constitution.
India 03-May-1991
During a Shaheedi Samagam held in Amritsar, Major General (Retd) Narinder Singh, Vice President of PHRO, asserted that "Azadi" is an inherent right belonging to the Sikh community.
India 03-May-1991
A dissident faction of SAD (M), headed by Baba Joginder Singh Rode, formed a committee of five members to investigate the improprieties allegedly carried out by SS Mann in the allocation of party tickets.
India 08-May-1991
DIG (Border Range) S Ajit Singh IPS and five other police officers were killed in a 48-hour long encounter with Khalistani militants in Rataul village of Amritsar district.
India 09-May-1991
SS Mann issued a warning to Rajiv Gandhi in which he stated that if the elections in Punjab were delayed, subsequent elections in the state would be organized under the supervision of the United Nations (UN).
India 10-May-1991
The SAD (P) stated in its election manifesto that its main objective was to work towards achieving the "Glory of the Panth and Punjab".
India 10-May-1991
In a statement, the Five-Member Committee (rode) declined to acknowledge SS Mann as their leader and instead urged Baba Joginder Singh to assume control of the party.
India 11-May-1991
The President of SGPC, Baldev Singh Sibia, headed a delegation to Rataul village to investigate the police encounter and offered a compensation of INR 1 Lakh to the village Panchayat for the losses incurred during the incident.
India 15-May-1991
The creation of the Khalsa Raj Party was announced by Retired Colonel Partap Singh, with the goal of establishing a self-governing and sovereign Sikh homeland.
India 16-May-1991
In their election manifesto, SAD (B) called for increased autonomy for the state and proposed amending the Constitution to establish India as a federation of sovereign states.
India 21-May-1991
Seven persons, including a professor, a librarian and five AISSF (Bittu) students in the Punjabi University, Patiala were arrested for distributing sweets and chanting objectionable slogans following the death of Rajiv Gandhi.
India 23-May-1991
Starting his election campaign from Shri Darbar Sahib in Amritsar, SS Mann declared that his party, if elected, would establish friendly relations with Muslim nations and facilitate free trade by opening up the Indo-Pak border.
India 31-May-1991
An unidentified individual set fire to 17 Birs of the Holy Guru Granth Sahib in Kot Shamir village of Bathinda district.
India 03-Jun-1991
Panthic Committee (Sohan Singh) and its affiliated militant group terminated their association with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
India 07-Jun-1991
The Minister for State for Home Affairs, Shri Subodh Kant Sahai and the candidate who was contesting from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency on behalf of the SJP, were narrowly escaped when militants attacked and bombed his motorcade near Gill village in Ludhiana district.
India 15-Jun-1991
The CPI, which had initially nominated candidates for the election but later chose to boycott it, reversed its decision due to pressure from the party's state unit.
India 15-Jun-1991
Khalistani Militants opened fire in two separate incidents at Baddowal village and Qila Raipur in Ludhiana district, killing 74 train passengers and injuring 46 others, with the majority of the victims being Hindus.
India 15-Jun-1991
G.S Tohra, who remained affiliated with SAD (B), declared that he would not participate in the upcoming elections since they did not provide a resolution to the issues facing Punjab, particularly those pertaining to the Sikh community.
India 17-Jun-1991
SAD (M) included the demand for the right to self-determination for the Sikh community in its election manifesto.
India 18-Jun-1991
AISSF (Manjit) stated in their election manifesto that they would continue their efforts towards establishing an independent and sovereign Sikh state.
India 21-Jun-1991
The elections in Punjab were rescheduled and postponed until September 25, 1991, for a duration of three months.
India 30-Jun-1991
Joginder Singh's group ousted SS Mann from his position as party president and appointed Baba Joginder Singh as his successor with unanimous consent.
India 01-Jul-1991
The working committee of SAD (M) denounced the postponement of the Punjab elections as a "betrayal and murder of democracy" and decided to seek the intervention of United Nations (UN) for the conduction of the elections. Additionally, they reaffirmed their pursuit of Azadi (freedom) for the Sikh community as their main objective.
India 03-Jul-1991
Four persons, including Balwant Singh, who was running as an independent candidate for the Verka constituency seat, were shot dead by militants in Gumtala, Amritsar.
India 10-Jul-1991
Panthic Committee (Sohan Singh) and its four affiliated groups announced that individuals who betray the Sikh community would not be permitted to utilize the sacrifices of Sikh "Shaheeds" to gain political power, and those who impede their continuing fight would not be forgiven. Mann was advised to only include Khalistan supporters in his political party.
India 14-Jul-1991
SAD (Rode) formally constituted its working committee and appointed additional party officials in Ludhiana. A working committee consisting of 31 members resolved to initiate an "Amrit Sanchar" movement throughout the state.
India 15-Jul-1991
A poster titled "Awaze Khalistan" threatened Governor General (Retd) O.P Malhotra and the Chief Minister of Haryana with liquidation. The poster accused the former of holding an anti-Punjabi language stance and the latter of making statements that were detrimental to the interests of Punjab.
India 15-Jul-1991
One KLF militant, identified as Swaran Singh alias Swarna was killed in an encounter with police in Kotla Barotiwala village in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh.
India 18-Jul-1991
SAD (M), in Chandigarh, denounced the purported killing of 10 pilgrims by the UP Police on July 13 and requested a judicial investigation by a judge of the Supreme Court (SC).
India 23-Jul-1991
A group of five individuals, led by P.S. Badal, met with the President of India and demanded that the police officials responsible for the Pilibhit killings be arrested and charged with murder.
India 25-Jul-1991
SAD (Rode) has announced the program of 'Amrit Sanchar' for 67 days, starting from August 1 to October 6, in District Bathinda. This will be followed by a 7-day Workers Training Camp aimed at imparting religious and political education to them.
India 31-Jul-1991
Charanjit Singh Walia and Sucha Singh Chhotepur, in a press statement in Chandigarh, alleged that Sikh pilgrims were killed in fake encounters. They demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident, compensation of INR 5 lakh to the families of the deceased, and called for the observance of August 15 as a 'Black Day'.
India 02-Aug-1991
SAD (Rode) workers staged dharnas at various district headquarters to protest against the alleged anti-Kisan Union Budget. They presented a memorandum to district authorities, demanding the registration of a murder case against policemen involved in the Pilibhit incident.
India 04-Aug-1991
A. S. Chawla of Sikh Students Federation (SSF), in Amritsar, announced that they will boycott the August 11 Anandpur Sahib meeting summoned by the SGPC President.
India 04-Aug-1991
In a meeting held in Amritsar, AISSF (Manjit) expanded its Executive and Central Committee by appointing Gursev Singh Harpalpur as Vice President and Lakhbir Singh Dhillon as General Secretary. Avtar Singh Jammu was replaced by J. S. Ghuman. The organization also appealed to militant organizations to refrain from frequently calling for Bandhs in Punjab.
India 04-Aug-1991
Four militant organizations, pledging allegiance to the Panthic Committee (Sohan Singh), issued a call for a complete Bandh in Punjab and Chandigarh on August 14 and 15.
India 05-Aug-1991
Daler Singh Buttar, convenor of the Sikh Students Federation (SSF), called for unity among Sikh militant organizations to achieve an independent "Khalistan". He expressed support for both democratic and armed struggle to attain this goal.
India 07-Aug-1991
SAD (B) organized a dharna in New Delhi to protest against the Pilibhit incident, the anti-Kisan Budget, and the proposed amendment of the People's Representation Act, which would disqualify militants from contesting elections.
India 08-Aug-1991
R.S. Mehta and A.S. Chawla requested J.S. Rode to relinquish his claim as Jathedar Akal Takht. They appealed to Taksal and other Sikh organizations to appoint a saintly and dignified individual as Jathedar Akal Takht.
India 11-Aug-1991
The conclave, summoned by Baldev Singh Sibia, President of SGPC, and attended by 28 Sikh organizations, has decided to launch a joint campaign against State Repression. A message from four militant organizations, who owe allegiance to the Panthic Committee (Sohan Singh), urged the conclave not to contest elections under the Constitution. They emphasized that only militants would engage in future talks with the Union Government, and the Sikh Panth would support the ongoing Sikh struggle for an independent and sovereign state of Khalistan. The meeting authorized Sibia to summon another meeting on September 1, 1991.
India 16-Aug-1991
SAD (M) and AISSF (M) decided to move together in future agitational programs. The Mann group has also decided to support the AISSF (M) program, which involves presenting a memorandum written in blood to the Speaker of Lok Sabha on August 19, 1991.
India 17-Aug-1991
Avtar Singh, an independent candidate for the Ferozepur Cantt Vidhan Sabha seat, was shot dead.
India 19-Aug-1991
AISSF (M) staged a dharna in New Delhi and presented a memorandum to the Speaker of Lok Sabha, demanding the annulment of all previous agreements on river waters and the dismantling of the state repressive machinery, among other things.
India 20-Aug-1991
The leadership of SAD (L) demanded internal autonomy for the states and the postponement of elections.
India 20-Aug-1991
J.F. Ribeiro, former DGP of Punjab and current Indian Ambassador in Romania, was injured in an attack by Khalistan militants.
India 25-Aug-1991
Bikkar Singh, an independent candidate from the Barnala Vidhan Sabha seat, was shot dead.
India 26-Aug-1991
Gurkirpal Singh of Sikh Youth Front (International) announced in Ludhiana the merger of their organization with AISSF (M).
India 29-Aug-1991
SS Saini, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Chandigarh, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life.
India 29-Aug-1991
The Babbar Sikh Students Jathebandi was formed by Virsa Singh Valtoha in Amritsar.
India 30-Aug-1991
Five individuals, including Pritam Singh, the BJP candidate for the Verka Vidhan Sabha seat, were shot dead in his house.
India 30-Aug-1991
SSF-Mehta announced its decision to boycott the proposed September 1 meeting.
India 31-Aug-1991
Gurjant Singh Rajasthani, the deputy chief of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), was shot dead in Phase II, Mohali.
India 01-Sep-1991
Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and four other militant organizations suggested the rejection of the Indian Constitution and emphasized the need for unity to achieve Khalistan.
India 01-Sep-1991
The conclave at Anandpur Sahib decided to boycott elections in Punjab until the stoppage of state repression and withdrawal of black laws. It strongly condemned the atrocities committed against Sikhs outside of Punjab, particularly in the Terai areas of Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, the conclave called for a bandh on September 7 to protest against the killing of KCF leader Rajasthani.
India 07-Sep-1991
Seven family members of Station House Officer (SHO) Dhariwal were shot dead in Majitha, Amritsar district.
India 11-Sep-1991
A 31-member Anti-Repression Action Committee, with Baldev Singh Sibia as President, was formed.
India 11-Sep-1991
Seven family members of H.C. Bahal Singh were shot dead in Ghurkwind village, Tarn Taran.
India 12-Sep-1991
A bill for the cancellation of election in Punjab was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
India 13-Sep-1991
The Mai Bhago Regiment, with Bibi Toofan Kaur as Chief General and Bibi Gargaj Kaur as Lieutenant General, was established in Amritsar.
India 17-Sep-1991
SAD (M) clarified that the Sikhs would not accept anything less than an independent and sovereign Sikh state.
India 19-Sep-1991
The Indian Parliament approved the bill for the extension of President's Rule in Punjab.
India 20-Sep-1991
The A.S. Padhri and K.S. Kahlon factions of AISSF dissolved in Jalandhar, and a new faction, AISSF (United), was formed under the Presidium of Amarjit Singh Padhri, Baldev Singh Hothian, Pirthi Singh Bathinda, Jassa Singh Gurdaspur, and Jaswinder Singh Qila Raipur.
India 22-Sep-1991
Nine districts of Punjab, namely Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana, Sangrur, Ropar, and Faridkot, were declared as disturbed areas.
India 23-Sep-1991
Badal described the government's decision to disallow the September 24 rally at Ludhiana as unprecedented, uncivilized, and undemocratic.
India 24-Sep-1991
The Panthic Committee (Usmanwala), through a press release in Faridkot, asked Sibia to hand over the Kar Sewa of the Akal Takht to Taksal by October 31.
India 01-Oct-1991
SAD (M), in a statement, appealed to BBC and CNN to provide appropriate coverage to the people and states advocating for the suggestion made by Giani Zail Singh regarding the compulsory implementation of Hindi in all states.
India 01-Oct-1991
H.S. Gill, General Secretary of AISSF (M), clarified in a statement that the Sikhs would not be satisfied without the creation of a separate Sikh raj. He described the holding of open darbars by the government as a futile exercise.
India 02-Oct-1991
SS Mann, in a press conference, reiterated the demand for holding elections in Punjab under the supervision of the United Nations Organization (UNO).
India 03-Oct-1991
48 persons, including 26 relatives of policemen and 11 families, were killed in Punjab.
India 04-Oct-1991
Bhai Sukhdev Singh Babbar of BKI condemned the killings of policemen.
India 05-Oct-1991
A new outfit, Liberation Tigers of Khalistan, was set up with its headquarters at Anandpur Sahib.
India 07-Oct-1991
S S Mann clarified that their aim is an independent Sikh Raj.
India 07-Oct-1991
Eight security personnel of a patrol train on the Jalandhar-Amritsar route were killed in a bomb explosion and indiscriminate firing.